The Opposition View - Carlisle United

Following yesterday's excellent 3-1 victory over Carlisle United, here are some thoughts on the game from the Cumbrians' manager Graham Kavanagh and a few of their fans.

"It was a very difficult afternoon," said Kavanagh.

"We didn't play anywhere near the level that we can. A few of the players didn't understand what League Two was all about. Well they do now, we're two games in and getting punished for silly mistakes."

"It's not pretty football and it won't be for most of the season."

"We have to regroup and organize ourselves very quickly. I think we need more courage."

"We keep using the word bravery, and you've got to have bravery on the ball, but you've got to win your battles first."

Reflecting on the Cumbrians' brief purple patch following their equaliser, Kavanagh continued…

"When we got back into the game at one all, I was thinking we're in the ascendancy and we're going to nick it. But if you give away two silly, cheap goals, you can't legislate for that, no matter how much work you do on the training ground."

Our narrow escape last season has marked us down as cannon fodder in the minds of opposing fans. Hopefully, it's a perception that will soon change, but meanwhile, here's a sample of the Cumbrians' disappointment.

The following extracts are taken from thecumbrians.net, CUFC Online and the Football Forum.

bluegorilla wrote:"All the way to Wycombe and it`s a complete shambles. We don`t look like we could beat an egg at the moment. Manager clueless."

realtopdog74 wrote:"I didn't see that result coming today, very worrying."

shoddycollins wrote:"Wycombe scythed us apart with greater ease than the wheat harvesters outside the stadium."

spratty wrote:"Embarrassing. Wycombe are one of the favourites to go down. Man for man our squad is streets ahead. Comes down to management and tactics I'm afraid."

wukkie wrote:"We've been pulled apart in the first two league games - one by a club who were in the Conference last season and the other who dodged relegation on the last day."

hellogregory wrote:"At least the Luton and Derby games had some positives. There's not a single bit of positivity that can be taken from today. An absolutely disgraceful performance and result."

triskelionblue wrote:"We defended like schoolboys (see their 3rd goal) and if we had still been in League One, we would have been 3-0 down at half-time."

newbluedream wrote:"Very disappointing! We definitely improved with Elliott coming on but once Paynter was subbed we seemed to lose any foothold and the penalty killed us off. After that we were completely shapeless. The penalty seemed harsh, there seemed to be a hand touching the ball but the player seemed off balance to me and couldn't avoid it."

mrquint wrote:"Kavanagh seems to believe he`s a tactical genius, he clearly isn't. He gave them the impertus and allowed them to come at us, gain confidence, play to their strengths, create chances then score. It was coming! We were woeful, absolute dross. Kav has got to go."

Kurtz wrote:"3-1 against Wycombe and they had five times more shots on goal than us. That's pretty embarrassing! Kav has some soul-searching to do. I want to give him a fair chance but questions need to be asked re. selections and formations/tactics."

spanblue wrote:"Kavanagh got the tactics wrong again and was out-thought by the Wycombe manager. I honestly believe that the club is on a downward spiral unless we appoint a manager that knows what he is doing."

paddockite wrote:"The Wycombe commentator on Player said our system was completely wrong, he was surprised to see us play a narrow diamond, as Wycombe play towards the wings."

crunchblue wrote:"Maybe we should give the Wycombe commentator the job."

shoddycollins wrote:'3-1 to Wycombe, and that scoreline flattered us. They should have had at least one more penalty and they missed a few good chances. Wycombe utterly dominant in every area of the pitch... men against boys. The story for us is that we've been completely outclassed by a team who were tipped for relegation."